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Is procrastination a vulnerability factor for hypertension and cardiovascular disease? Testing an extension of the procrastination–health model

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Abstract

Personality is an important epidemiological factor for understanding health outcomes. This study investigated the associations of trait procrastination with hypertension and cardiovascular disease (HT/CVD) and maladaptive coping by testing an extension of the procrastination–health model among individuals with and without HT/CVD. Individuals with self-reported HT/CVD (N = 182) and healthy controls (N = 564), from a community sample, completed an online survey including measures of personality, coping, and health outcomes. Logistic regression analysis controlling for demographic and higher order personality factors found that older age, lower education level and higher procrastination scores were associated with HT/CVD. Moderated mediation analyses with bootstrapping revealed that procrastination was more strongly associated with maladaptive coping behaviours in participants with HT/CVD than the healthy controls, and the indirect effects on stress through maladaptive coping were larger for the HT/CVD sample. Results suggest procrastination is a vulnerability factor for poor adjustment to and management of HT/CVD.

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Acknowledgments

The data collection was supported by a research Grant (# 410-2005-0094) from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (Canada) awarded to the author. Preparation of this paper was supported by funding from the Canada Research Chairs program awarded to the author.

Conflict of interest

Fuschia Sirois declare that she has no conflicts of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 (5). Informed consent was obtained from all participants for being included in the study.

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  1. Health and Well-Being Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Bishop’s University, 2600 College St., Sherbrooke, QC, J1M 1Z7, Canada

    Fuschia M. Sirois

  2. Centre for Research on Aging, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada

    Fuschia M. Sirois

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Sirois, F.M. Is procrastination a vulnerability factor for hypertension and cardiovascular disease? Testing an extension of the procrastination–health model. J Behav Med 38, 578–589 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-015-9629-2

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